Right off the bat this article caught my attention because of how it immediately brings up a fascinating point that most people probably don’t think about. We often fail to recognize that everything around us is designed and has principles and thought put behind it. This doesn’t just mean posters and book covers, but our technology and buildings as well. Literally everything created by man has some aspect of design behind it, or as Kidd puts it, “everything that is not made by nature is designed by someone.” Once you realize this, it’s almost like a whole new world opens up to you.

Though I’ve played around with color many times while designing things in the past, it’s always important to touch back on the importance of a color pallet that really works. Keeping different categories of colors in mind can really help establish unity, using cool colors together in one piece and warm colors together elsewhere.

I’ll admit that I was unaware that people vehemently argue for a clear distinction between art and design as to me it feels as though they fill up the same space a lot of the time. I’ve never felt like there’s any downside to classifying design as art or vice versa, especially considering the fact that when someone refers to something as “art,” it is always meant in a complimentary manner.

Kidd mentions a lot of concepts that seem more or less obvious when thinking in terms of design, such as complexity vs. simplicity and symmetry vs. asymmetry, but I think it’s important to reinforce these ideas regardless of how familiar we are with them. You can make incredible designs by utilizing any of these elements, and it’s important to note that there’s often no right or wrong when it comes to deciding which direction to take a design, there can be beauty in any path you take.